[Daletec]

I am looking to get into reloading. I want experienced opinions on the best starter kit. I will purchase die sets, etc. as needed.

Calibers

.38
.45ACP
7.62x39
7.62x54R
.308

I would like to keep it inexpensive for starters, I can spend more once it becomes an obsession and my wife can't stop me!

Seriously, though. I will eventually get all nerdy on the math and the precision of measured case length, powder weight, bullet weight, depth of bullet seat, etc. But I would like to get decent start using availble information, here.

 

[RedneckFur]

Lee makes a few kits that have everything you need, with the exception of dies, and their kits are very inexpensive. If you enjoy reloading, you can upgrade things as you go, and if you decide its not for you, you won't have any trouble finding a buyer for it.

RCBS makes a starter kit too. Their stuff is great, but you'll pay a bit more for it.

I use mostly RCBS and Hornady, but Lee's stuff is good.

Lee dies are pretty good too, and sometimes only half the price of RCBS or Lyman dies.

 

[mckenziedrums]

Ok... so here goes...

Step 1. Ignore every person that posts saying you have to buy a Dillon right now. You said inexpensive, Dillon is nice but it is NOT inexpensive.
Step 2. Buy a book or 20. ABC's of Reloading is great, Lee book is good, Lyman's is as well.


Now that we've covered that... When you're reloading handgun and rifle I suggest you at least get a turret press. It's a little more money than a single stage but it loads rounds a heck of a lot faster when it comes to hand gun rounds. You can get by with a single stage but it's just REALLY slow. The turret is a bit more than the single stage but several hundred less than your average progressive. They can be had in kits from Lee, RCBS, etc. The kits aren't bad but you'll immediately want to start buying things to make your loading more efficient.

Here's my recommended starter kit:
Lee 4 hole turret press
RCBS 505 scale
Lee Quick trim + dies in the calibers you need
Dies by whichever brand, buy 2nd hand, save money

Fun things to have:
Lee Ergo prime (prime while watching TV!)
Lyman Powder Drop - I'm not a huge fan of the lee system, love my Lyman

Then toss all those recommendations out the window because you'll end up deciding how YOU want to do it.

 

[Caesar_Mikey]

See above. Good list.

If you do go right into progressive . Stay away from Lee. I have 2 older Hornady Projector Presses and just got a LNL press. The problem I have see with the Lee is the primer system likes to get powder in it and its done.

 

[Bad-Karma]

I started and continue to use the lee breech loader kit seen here:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/42...om/product/423081/lee-challenger-breech-lock-single-stage-press-anniversary-kit

For me the biggest time consumer is powder so I will probably upgrade to an electronic dispenser/scale combo. everything else will keep you going until you start really churning out some volume.

Also recommend the Lee quick trim and a kinetic bullet puller.

Edit to add: Frankford media tumbler to clean your brass. Hornady OAL gauge once you get into the precise stuff.

 

[jcalvinmarks]

I have almost exclusively Lee products, and my experience is that they are all absolutely adequate to produce modest to slightly-better-than-modest ammunition. Very few Lee products are much better than adequate, but they are all at least that good.

You can buy an all-in-one kit; the Breech Lock Challenger Extraordinary Whatever kit is something like $135, and it's just fine. I say buy that and a set of dies for one caliber (I'd vote 45ACP) and get started that way instead of buying for all those calibers above right at once. You'll very quickly find that you want to replace (or at least augment) some of the parts of the kit. I started with the scale, replaced the Lee beam scale with an RCBS digital.

 

[Bad-Karma]

+1 for Jcalvin. I would go ahead and buy a relatively cheap digital scale right from the get go like this one :http://www.amazon.com/Frankford-205...orting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1400771855&sr=1-1&keywords=digital+scale+for+reloading

 

[mckenziedrums]

Beam scales are better bang for the buck... They are more accurate than cheap digitals by a large margin. The Lyman powder drop is VERY repeatable with ball and flake powders so you can use the beam to dial it in then charge full steam ahead loading after it's dialed in.

 

[Keltyke]

Lee makes good MoR stuff. Their turret presses are excellent, IMO. Their dies are great and usually a LOT cheaper than anyone else. I use an older Lee 3 station. The 4 station is good if you want to seat and crimp separately. In any kit, replace the El Cheapo beam scales with a GOOD electronic. Lee powder systems are good for some powders, not for others. I'd go with RCBS Uniflow there. The Lee on-press automatic primer delivery set up SUCKS. I have the manual Safety Prime and it works great. You can also easily prime off-press. Like some have suggested, get several manuals and read them thoroughly. Right now, equipment is at a premium price. Look around and compare before buying. Nothing wrong with used stuff here, either.

 

[Tailhunter]

Ignore Dillon .....

 

[Keltyke]

Ignore Dillon .....

Don't know if this was meant tongue-in-cheek. Nothing wrong with Dillon, provided you want press-specific accessories and a starting budget that will only make you scream once. If you want to reload a thousand rounds an hour, by all means, go Dillon. You'll recover the cost in 5-10 years. If you're reloading to keep yourself in range ammo, there are several cheaper options, including Lee, and RCBS. Also, I actually prefer the slower manual turret press with few, if any, bells and whistles. Manually handling the rounds a couple of times lets you inspect at each operation. You'll catch a lot of bad brass that even a Dillon wont. You'll visually verify the powder charge, which you should do, anyway. Don't rely on an automatic alarm.

 

[backwoodsshooter]

I started and continue to use the lee breech loader kit seen here:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/42...om/product/423081/lee-challenger-breech-lock-single-stage-press-anniversary-kit

For me the biggest time consumer is powder so I will probably upgrade to an electronic dispenser/scale combo. everything else will keep you going until you start really churning out some volume.

Also recommend the Lee quick trim and a kinetic bullet puller.

Edit to add: Frankford media tumbler to clean your brass. Hornady OAL gauge once you get into the precise stuff.

Same Lee kit I started on and still have. Great to start out on and for the price you really cant beat it starting out while learning

I live in Taylorsville, so if you ever want to get some hands on time with my setups let me know and you can come by and try it

 

[MacA]

Oh well....someone has to be the Dillon "fan-boy"....

First off, you can't go wrong with most of the advice above. If you totally ignore what I say and go with one of the routes mentioned above you will be fine......HOWEVER......I just started reloading myself and without hesitation purchased a very nice used Dillon RL550B progressive press. My interest began because I have a good friend that reloads. For about the last year, he was my mentor. I purchased supplies and he provided the equipment and know-how. He owns 3 Dillon RL450 progressive presses and 1 RL550B press. From this experience I learned a few things that guided me to my first reloading set-up purchase.

1) Buy the best (quality/customer service/warranty) equipment you can afford. In my opinion Dillon meets all those requirements.
2) The Dillon 550B was very easy to learn. It is still "manual" enough that you can take your time and inspect primer, powder load, or any other phase of the process. I still take my time and check each phase several times even though I have yet (knock-on-wood) to have a problem. My powder feed and final bullet dimensions are extremely consistent from the beginning to end of a run.
3) For me, I decided to by-pass the low cost single stage (time consuming) options because I knew that I would eventually want to upgrade anyway. With my Dillon I have one of the best presses available on the market, I can go as fast or slow as I want. Parts and accessories are plentiful and easy to get. And you have one of the best customer services supporting your hobby! It was a no-brainer for me.

OK, it will take more investment in the beginning, but considering the long-term, I don't think I am spending any more. Just more up front. If I take care of my Dillon press it will last me a lifetime.

Blast away! ;sofa

 

[Pumpkinslinger]

Having some experience with RCBS, Hornady and Lee I'd start with an RCBS or Hornady starter kit.

 

[Tailhunter]

Now that the ice is broken ... Buy the Dillon now and save yourself a yard sale later.

 

[TRaGiK]

I started and continue to use the lee breech loader kit seen here:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/42...om/product/423081/lee-challenger-breech-lock-single-stage-press-anniversary-kit

Same kit I started with and still use. I've reloaded a few thousand rounds with it. It's not fast, but it works well. I can do ~60 rounds an hour with it.

 

[Cbroome]

I just received a Lee Classic Turret kit from Titan Reloading today. I don't know if this is a great choice for all of your calibers or not. I am starting out with no equipment, and I just thought this would be a great way to learn at an affordable price. Make sure to factor in the price of CALIBER CONVERSION kits and die sets. This was a big factor to me since the lee deluxe 4 die sets ($40) come with a shell holder which is your caliber conversion for the lee turret presses. Also, you will likely want to have extra tool heads set up with your dies for less hassle in changing calibers. The 4 hole turret heads for lee are $10 each. Want a powder measure set up on the extra heads? They are $38! This was just my decision making process. Not sure if you listen to podcasts, but the guys at Triangle Tactical podcast did a few regarding newbie reloading. I believe episodes 75-78 have the bulk of the info regarding Luke getting a Lee value turret and beginning reloading.

 

[M30]

It's definitely "different strokes for different folks" when it comes to presses. I used a Lyman turret press that I had bought used when I was reloading back in the late seventies/early eighties and it worked flawlessly for handgun cartridges. Which by the way is all I load, then and now. After a few years I quit reloading up until here recently. I had to start from scratch and after a few months of research I purchased the Lee Classic Turret Press Kit. The images on the internet don't do it justice. At first it looked cheaply made to me. I thought it was pretty much all plastic but through research I found out it has very little plastic in it. The accessories are pretty much all plastic, except the dies of course but the press itself is solid. Anyway I have been using it now for a couple of months and I like it. I hear a lot of negatives about the scale but it works fine for me. No bells or whistles. Just a simple to operate scale. The powder discs are very accurate and consistent but they are not good for fine tuning loads without some modifications. I went with the adjustable charge bar and have had great success with it. Very accurate and consistent. I can fine tune any powder charge I need as far as handgun rounds. I can also remove the index rod to stop the auto index and rotate the turret by hand and do one stage at a time. As I said "different strokes for different folks". I am a low maintenance kind of guy and the LCTP works well for me. Oh yeah, you cant beat the price for the kit and all Lee accessories are priced decent too. My suggestion is to do a lot of research on presses. It definitely helped me make up my mind. Good luck.

 

[Garyshome]

My first press was a Dillon RL550. I never looked back!

 

[lucky13bullets]

if anyone wants to see any of the lee presses in action come down to the shop and you can see ours.

we also have a full line of lee products in stock, and we can order rcbs, hornady, and dillon